Another Twenty Years Later
by White Fairy Writer
Summary: It's been another twenty years since Raf, Jack, and Miko came together in the deserts of Jasper, Nevada. But, now the time has come for them all to come back to the town they all called home. Except now, something is not the same, and the group itself will never exactly be what it was. Sequel to Twenty Years Later.
1. Chapter 1

The woman in room A-34 had been here for a while. The nurses were always surprised when the woman turned to them and smiled, chatting about anything imaginable, and for the most part brightening _their_ day instead of her own. The majority of the staff found it unfair that the woman, only in her mid fifties, was going to die.

The patient in room A-34 would stare out the window from time to time, pushing back what was left of her graying hair, and sigh. It didn't seem right to anyone that the cheerful lady had stage four cancer, and would probably not make it to summer's end. But, whenever one of her nurses or family members brought up the subject, she would change it, always telling them with a smile that she wasn't dead yet, so why discuss it?

The woman was staring out the window when her nurse walked in, humming quietly to herself. Nurse Akito kept herself from shaking her head. It really didn't seem fair to the nurse that such a bright person was dying, and seeing the woman waste away right before her eyes was disheartening. But, in accordance with the patient's wishes, the nurse knew she wasn't supposed to speak about the issue.

"Good morning, ma'am," Nurse Akito chirped in Japanese, going to change the date on the whiteboard. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well actually," the woman responded, sitting up and pushing the sheet off her body. "The drugs they gave me worked wonders. I was out like a light!"

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," the nurse replied, turning from the whiteboard to watch confusion flit over the woman's face. "Is something wrong?"

"No, well maybe, I can't remember," the patient said, shaking her head as if to rid herself of her thoughts. "Something I was supposed to do..."

Nurse Akito sighed quietly, mentally reminding herself to add memory loss to the patient's medical file. Her mind had always stayed intact, but now...

"Is it really the twentieth?" The woman mused aloud, her eyes troubled.

"Yes, it is," the nurse replied gently, hoping to jog the woman's memory.

"Of April?" The woman continued.

"Yes."

"Can you call my son for me? Tell him I need him," the woman decided, her eyes clearing of puzzlement. Nurse Akito hoped the pieces missing from the patient's memory had resurfaced, because the nurse knew this might be a sign of the final spiral in her health.

"Of course, ma'am. Can I tell him what it's about?"

"No, it would be better if I explain myself," the woman decided. "Just get him here, please?"

"Of course," the nurse nodded, and exited the room. The woman in the bed looked out the window, her thoughts beginning to swirl inside her head. How could she have forgotten the date? It was understandable, she told herself, after all the chemo and radiation, one could be allowed to forget some things every now and then. The woman's mind took her back to her childhood, when she was in an exchange program that took her to America...

"Mom?" A voice spoke urgently, rushing into the room. "I came as soon as I heard, what's wrong? What do you need?"

"Haru," the mother smiled softly. "My baby."

"Yes, mom, I'm your baby," he smiled, coming to her bedside. He held her hand in his own, and looked at his mother tenderly. "What do you need me to do?"

The woman smiled a moment, a humorous thought entering her mind.

"How's your English?"

"What?"

~(0)~

"Daddy!" A voice called out, and Rafael turned to find his youngest daughter running to ambush him. He opened his arms to catch her, and hugged the child to his chest.

"Rosalinda, I missed you too," he smiled. His seven year old daughter leaned away from him, a grin on her face.

"Guess what we did in school today? We started learning about state capitals. I remembered three of them! Only me and Justin knew the one for Texas though, and I raised my hand reeealy high so Ms. Storms would call on me, and not him. I answered it, and I got it right too!"

"Good for you, Rosy," Rafael cheered, setting her down. "I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks, Daddy," Rosalinda said happily, taking her dad's hand and leading him into the house. "Mommy's making spaghetti. But it's not Tuesday. Mama makes spaghetti on Tuesdays, not Wednesdays, why is she doing that?"

"Maybe mommy is just being silly," Rafael reasoned, shutting the front door behind him.

"Hm, maybe," Rosalinda agreed, and then scampered off to disappear inside the house. Rafael watched her disappear, smiling. Rosalinda was a surprise child for his wife and he, and they didn't think they would have another after having their first two children, Daphne and Nicholas. But Rosalinda came along, and the parents were once again teaching a child the ABC's, 123s, and everything in between.

"Is that you, Raf?" Mary's voice called from the kitchen.

"I'm home," he called back, heading toward his wife. She was stirring the spaghetti sauce, humming to herself as Raf entered.

"Hi honey," she smiled. "It's Spaghetti Wednesday, you know."

"I heard from Rosy," Raf chuckled. "You're confusing the poor child."

"With all the confusion she makes, I should be happy to cause some excitement around here every now and then!" Mary exclaimed lightly.

"My wife, the crazy lady," Raf replied with mock resignation. "I just hope the neighbors don't hear about this," he teased her.

"Thanks a lot," she rolled her eyes, swatting her husband with a dish towel. "You're supposed to have my back. You promised that even when I was old and crazy you would still believe in me."

"And I do," Raf smiled. "Even completely insane with this Spaghetti Wednesday scheme, you're still pretty amazing."

"I love you too," Mary smiled back. "How was work? Have fun making new codes?"

"I wish," Raf sighed. "I'm no more than a paper pusher at my own company! I don't do much actual work now at Protectia."

"You're the CEO, you're allowed to just sign papers after working hard your whole life."

"I know, but you know I like getting my hands on the project, actually doing it myself," Raf replied.

"I know sweet heart," Mary consoled him. "Just assign yourself to a project then. Oh, can you get Rosalinda to set the table? It's dinner time."

"Sure," Raf agreed.

"Oh, and I'm supposed to remind you about something. Hm, what was it? You told me a couple years ago to remind you about something. What was it? About a date? And going home? Does that make any sense? You thought you might forget, and I _know_ I wrote it down somewhere..."

"Oh no," Raf paled.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Do you think you can take care of Rosalinda for a few days? I have to go back to Jasper! How could I forget?" Raf exclaimed.

"Deep breath, honey, go pack your bags, I'll take care of Rosy," Mary told him sadly. She was used to this now, her husband jetting off to do something that he could never tell her. It had something to do with his work, Mary was sure, because of all the government contracts Protectia accumulated over the years.

"You sure?"

"Of course," Mary said easily. "I've raised two other children, you know. And if it comes down to it, Rosy hasn't seen her grandparents in awhile. We might come visit you."

"You're an angel," Raf kissed his wife's forehead, and then rushed to their bedroom to pack.

"Yep, an angel," Mary sighed, scooping spaghetti onto plates.

~(0)~

"Do you think this was a good idea?"

"We are allowed to retire, Sierra," Jack chuckled.

"But to Florida? Isn't this just a bit stereotypical?"

"We haven't been Stateside in a while, it'll be good for us. Besides, haven't you ever wanted to go to Disney World?" Jack grinned.

"Well, yes, but-"

"We'll be fine," Jack assured her. "The kids are doing fine back in Italy, we just got Cecilia off to college, and Marcus is starting his new job. They will be _fine_."

"I know, but-"

"Besides, I have to go back to Jasper. Remember Raf and Miko from high school?"

"Who can forget Miko?" Sierra laughed. "She was legally insane."

Jack couldn't deny it, and burst out laughing.

"That may be true, but we have a standing arrangement to meet back up every twenty years, and I'm afraid that time is coming up. And while we're back in America, we can look for the perfect retirement house. It doesn't have to be Florida, it can be anywhere. Anywhere in the world even. As long as we know the language. I know we picked up Italian pretty well, but lets not do that again."

"Seconded. What about a cozy little cottage on the sea somewhere?"

"How about a cabin in the mountains?"

"Why would we want to be isolated from the world?" Sierra argued, glaring at her husband. "The mountains? You know I would freeze to death!"

"Okay, what about back in Italy?"

"We'll see. Let's just get back to America before we decide where to put down roots!" Sierra laughed, leaning back into her plane seat. She smiled, and looked out the plane window. An adventure was waiting for them, Sierra could just tell.


	2. They're On Their Way!

"When I was young, I spent some time in America. I finished high school there, actually," the woman in the bed smiled. "And I made some amazing friends. Well, I coerced my friends into agreeing to come back after twenty years, and we did. At the time, you were but a child, I doubt you even remembering me leaving. But now, you have to go in my place. You've heard the doctors, I'm not going to live to see next fall."

"That's not true, there are treatments-"

"I've lived a long life, Haru," his mother cut him off, her eyes drifting out the window. "And I've seen a great many things, some things that not even a mother can tell her son without bringing the American government's attention to the matter. So, I won't say a word. You'll meet my friends, they will tell you."

"But Mom-"

"I wonder if they will be there too," the woman mused, but ended up just shaking her head. "Probably not, they're long gone by now. I wonder why they came back last time? What was it, something about Arctic exploration? Maybe something landed here, and they came to retrieve it. Yes, that's possible. Why else would they come back from Cybertron?"

"Nurse!" Haru called out, rushing to the doorway. "My mom's having a hallucination or something," he explained when Nurse Akito came running.

"What? Memory loss and now _this_? You're mother is definitely racking up symptoms faster than anyone else here," the nurse laughed, pulling out a vial and syringe and injecting the woman's IV bag with a sedative.

"Go to Jasper for me, son. Mile marker 25, tell them...tell them you're my son, Miko's son, that I want you to know about Them..." her words trailed off, until Miko's eyes slid shut, and she was asleep.

"So, final mission. I think you should do it," Nurse Akito spoke up. "It's like her last request, it's dishonorable not to fulfill it for her." She reasoned, smiling as she watched the man's resolve waver.

~(0)~

_Why are we going back?_

Raf had this thought in the back of his head during the plane ride to Jasper. He really did want to see Jack and Miko, it had been so long since he had heard from them. Miko, in her usual fashion, had lost his telephone number almost from the start, and Jack had a city to look after. Raf himself had children to worry about, and the trio had simply lost touch. Miko's promise, however, made sure the three would come back, no matter where they were or what they were doing.

"We will be reaching our destination in five minutes, so everybody please return to your seats, buckle up, and prepare for descent," the chirpy flight attendant's voice same over the loud speakers. "And as always, we thank you for choosing Hunter's Flight Airlines."

_The Autobots won't be there,_ Raf thought sadly. Jasper never seemed the same without the giant protectors, and Raf knew the group wouldn't be the same without the Autobots. But, they were where they belonged on their home planet, and Raf knew they were happy up there, wherever they were, on Cybertron.

_I can't wait to see Jack and Miko, they'll be so surprised to see I finally got contacts!_

~(0)~

"I can't believe we're going back to Jasper," Sierra marveled, shaking her head in amazement.

"We've been gone a long time," Jack agreed. "But, everyone goes home eventually, and it's time we did. Besides, Jasper in spring is beautiful."

"It's _hot,"_ Sierra contradicted him. "It's by a desert!"

"So? You just have to look for the beauty around yourself," Jack smiled at his wife.

"Since when were you so wise?"

"Since I helped save the world a couple years ago," Jack replied, turning to look out the window.

"What?!"

"I'm just kidding," Jack laughed. "I haven't helped save the world since I was kid."

"What am I going to do with you?" Sierra shook her head with a chuckle.

"Not much," Jack replied. "You're pretty much stuck with me."

"Good thing I like you then," Sierra laughed, leaning over to peck a kiss on her husband's cheek.

"Good thing I like you too," Jack smiled back at her.

_I wonder how much Jasper has changed since we were children? Or even since we last were here, twenty years ago..._


	3. Cybertron

When the Autobots first returned to Cybertron, none could truly say what they were feeling. Excited, nervous, apprehensive, shocked, happy, sad, determined...If you mixed every emotion together and then some, you would get close to the feeling that swirled in each bot's spark.

Optimus went to work bringing life back to Cybertron, attempting to bring back the days of old, when he was just a clerk known as Orion Pax. The Autobots never dreamed it possible to bring life back to Cybertron, but they did. The Omega Keys weren't the only thing to make Cybertron as it was before...

Optimus strode into his command center, hearing the beeps and clicks of processors taking in data and storing it on Cybertronian sized hard drives. The clerk in Optimus was telling him it was a smart move to recompile all the knowledge his race once had, so that the information might one day help another who needed it. Knowledge was power, after all.

Optimus's optics roved around the room, taking in friends and new acquaintances. So many Autobots, and Decepticons, had fled to the far corners of the universe when their world was first destroyed, but now, now everyone who heard the message Optimus continually sent out into the far reaches of space were coming back. In truth, the factions of Autobot and Decepticon were no more. Optimus refused to believe that Decepticons were beyond hope, and so he offered friendship to all who came home to Cybertron. Optimus revoked the names that had caused so much strife: Autobot and Decepticon.

He believed, as all came to believe, they were all Cybertronians.

No more, no less.

And Optimus always knew that if a Cybertronian was to lead the dark path as Megatron once did, then Optimus would deal with the rebel as a kind general would: sternly, but offering redemption.

There was always hope.

"Hey Optimus," Arcee greeted the Cybertronian leader with a smile.

"Good day to you, Arcee. How is the data retrieval coming along?"

"Pretty quickly actually, we should be done soon."

"That's good news, thank you, Arcee," Optimus nodded, and turned heading away. The automatic doors slid shut behind Optimus as he walked down a silent hallway. Optimus heard the automatic doors to the data room open behind him, and the sound of light footsteps heading in his direction.

"Hey Optimus?" Arcee called. Her leader turned back to the femme, waiting. "Do you ever think about the kids?"

"The sparklings are fine, why would I worry about them?"

"That's not what I meant, and you know that," Arcee said softly. Optimus was silent a moment, his servo taking him back many earth years to the smiling faces of three teenagers. He could recall vividly Jack's determination, Miko's mischief, Rafael's intelligence, as if it were only yesterday. The children were special, and held a tender place in Optimus's heart. How could he forgot them? They were something unique that Optimus didn't always see in the human race.

"Do you ever think about them? I heard Bulk muttering Miko's name during his recharge, and when Bee got angry at a computer he exclaimed that Raf would know how to fix it. And I...I think about Jack sometimes, wondering how he is, where he ended up..." Arcee trailed off, looking past Optimus into the memories of the femme's past.

"I know you miss him," Optimus told her softly. "He was your partner, and truly a worthy friend. How can I forget the man who gave me back my memories? Or the girl who caused us so much grief? Or even the boy who's genius rivaled that of a Cybertronian? I doubt one could ever forget those three, Arcee, so how could you ask such a question?"

"I just...I just remember twenty years ago how the kids surprised us at the base. Do you remember?"

"Of course," Optimus replied quietly. A Cybertronian capsule was accidently lost on earth, and the team had gone to retrieve it from Antarctica. The children were truly a welcome surprise.

"Do you think we could ever, I don't know, go back?" Arcee faltered, looking at Optimus hesitantly.

"Arcee," Optimus sighed heavily. "Earth is not our home. We returned here to bring back life to _our_ world, not to continually meddle in the affairs of the humans. We cannot return because there is no reason, and the governments of earth would not stand for us returning. They see us as threats no matter what we might say to the contrary."

"But-"

"Arcee, it does not make sense for us to go back," Optimus told the femme gently. "I miss the children as well, but we parted ways many years ago. We had our 'tearful goodbye', as Miko once put it."

"I..."

"We carry our friends in our sparks, Arcee. When a comrade is in your spark, you can never really be without them."

"I understand, Optimus," Arcee finally nodded.

"Good, now I must go attend to the others. One of our newest arrivals wants to create a university for higher learning, but needs my permission to begin. I trust you can handle everything here?"

"Of course, Optimus," Arcee replied, saluting her leader and then turning away. Optimus watched her go silently, knowing in his spark he told Arcee the right thing. He missed the children as well, but it was not possible to go back. Besides, it wasn't as if the children would be waiting for them if they returned! Optimus chuckled at the thought, and then continued down the hall.

Arcee herself returned to the data room, her eyes drifting to Bee who was quickly downloading data packets. His optics turned to Arcee, hope glimmering. Arcee just shook her head slightly, and she watched the hope drop out of Bumblebee's optics. The yellow Cybertronian sighed, and Arcee could feel his frustration. They wanted to go back, to see their friends, their partners, the part of their spark the three Cybertronians left on earth. The children were more than small earthlings, they were much more to their Cybertronian counterparts.

"Arcee, you look like you just lost a comrade," one of the bots in the room spoke up. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, Quicksilver, just remembering something," Arcee responded, snapping out of her thoughts.

Maybe they could go back, unofficially, if Optimus wouldn't approve it. Earth was only a groundbridge away after all...


	4. We're on Our Way Home

The instructions his mother had given him were simple:

Pack your bags and get on a plane to the United States

Head to Jasper, Nevada, 'Entertainment Capital of the World'

Find yourself lodging for the night

Head into the desert on April 25, and go to mile marker 25

Jackson Darby and Rafael Esquivel will explain the rest.

But who was this Darby? Or Esquivel? Haru didn't know, and when he pressed his mother, Miko only told him that the two other men were friends. And as Haru sat back in his plane seat, he could feel his apprehension grow. This trip was insane! A hallucination created from a medicated mind! And yet, here he was, flying over the Pacific Ocean trying to get to America. He was either a very caring son, or crazy himself.

Either way, he was still crossing the sea.

_"I want you to know my world, Haru. The stories I could never tell you, Jack and Raf will tell in my place. There are things about this universe I want you to know," _his mother had told him before he left, and the words whispered in his head over and over. What did his mother mean? What was he supposed to know?

Growing up with a mom who managed some of Japan's top bands had been crazy from the get go. His mother Miko was always busy, Haru wasn't even sure when his mom had time to sleep at times, but she always had time for her two sons, Haru and Souta. His brother hadn't known how to handle their mother's infliction, and Haru was usually the one to visit Miko. Haru only hoped Souta would realize just how important their mom was before it was to late...

When Haru thought back, he could remember times with his mom behind the scenes at some concert, times he would get to meet the band, times his mother would teach him to rock out to American punk bands, how to avoid the police force in case something 'unfortunate' should occur, *cough* *cough* _crazy mother _*ahem*, and the times he would sit in his mother's office and watch her calculate the numbers in regards to each band's tour expenses. Haru had come to accept his mother's quirks over the years, and so it was with reluctance he was even going. But, every now and then when his mother was staring up at the sky, Haru could have sworn she said something along the lines of 'miss you, Bulk.' There were mysteries surrounding his mother, Haru knew that, and now Haru was sure he was going to find out.

~(0)~

Raf sat in his first class seat, trying to tune out the sounds of an arguing couple behind him.

"You never listen to me!"

"You never say anything interesting!"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me! You're an idiot!"

"Then why'd you marry me?"

Raf took a deep calming breath, trying to focus on Jasper. Raf wondered about Jack and Miko, how they were, what they were up to, and he was saddened to think so much time had passed since they had last met up. So much time had slipped through their fingers, and now that they were reaching their 'Golden Years', Raf really hoped his friends and he could at least hang out a bit more than they had.

They were friends, and they had a bond that couldn't be broken by distance or time.

They had the Autobot secret.

So no matter what, Raf knew that Miko and Jack would be there, waiting for him. Raf just hoped Miko wasn't late like she was last time...Or come crashing in on a dune buggy.

Raf just had to laugh at the memory, the sound bubbling up and escaping him with a smile.

"Excuse me? Do you think this is funny?" The angry woman from behind him demanded, leaning over the seat. "I bet you aren't even married, and here you are acting like my failing marriage is a joke!"

"Ma'am, I've been married over twenty years," Raf told the brunette calmly. "I have three kids, and my wife and I work our issues out in the privacy of our own home. We don't air our problems out for the world to hear."

"Hmph," the woman snorted.

"Don't bring another stranger into this, Ariel," the man growled.

"Oh shut up, who do you think you are? Ordering me to do this, do that, like I'm some kind of maid! I am _not _the hired help!"

_"They_ at least listen to me!"

"I do listen to you!"

"No, you don't. You never do!"

This was going to be a long flight...

~(0)~

"Jasper hasn't changed," Sierra commented, the surprise evident in her face.

"Small towns never do," Jack agreed. "There's something timeless about small towns, something that defies progress."

"No, plenty small towns want to become big cities. You wanted to make our town in Italy more city-ified," Sierra replied.

"But Jasper's different, even you noticed."

"It's in the desert, it really doesn't have much hope," Sierra laughed. "But you're right, I love it here. I would hate to see it get taken over by a big corporation or something. Do you think the town still does the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony?"

"It's the wrong season, Sierra," Jack chuckled. "It's April, spring time."

"I know that, silly," Sierra rolled her eyes. "It's just a simple question. I wish our kids could have come with us, I would have loved to show them my old town..."

"They have studying to do, Sierra, I don't think they would like you just picking them up and dropping them here in the desert," Jack laughed, knowing that was probably something _Miko_ would do. Jack absently wondered about his friend as he drove their car through the slumbering town. What had she been up to all these years? How were her kids? Was she even responsible these days? Jack thought how funny it would be if Miko was actually _normal_, something that no one, _ever_, would say to describe the girl Jack remembered.

"I know, but since they went off to get their 'higher education' things haven't been the same! I miss the sound of Cecilia telling me she needs new clothes, or Marcus rushing into the house forgetting to take off his cleats! All the _mud_ that boy tracked in!" Sierra shuddered. "Things just aren't the same, Jack."

"That's why we need to go back to our roots. We need to slow down, we're so used to the rush when we had to get the kids to practice or clubs or school! We need to slow down, and this is the perfect opportunity. Besides, we've been needing some desert air. Italy is nice, but there's something about the desert..." Jack trailed off, a smile emerging on his face. He never could explain it, but the desert air was so different from everything else. It was peaceful, there just wasn't anything else Jack could say about his native habitat.

"Oh Jack," Sierra laughed, leaning over to give her husband a peck on the cheek. "It's nice to be home."


	5. The Ground Bridge

"Miko did rub off on you," Bulkhead chuckled as his femme friend peeked her head around the corner.

"Miko didn't rub off on me," Arcee muttered back. "It's just my recon training, Bulk."

"_No, I'm pretty sure it's just Miko,_" Bumblebee chirped, and Arcee glared at the yellow bot.

"I am an Autobot spy, I have more training, caution, and tricks than Miko ever did!" Arcee said indignantly, gesturing to her fellow bots that it was safe to move.

"Optimus doesn't like us using our faction names, Arcee," Bulk reminded her as they dashed across the hall. "We're all Cybertronian. This isn't the war. No more factions."

"I wear my insignia for a reason, Bulk. So I don't forget what I had to overcome. So I remember that I have to fight for the truth. And the truth is, I just want to go back to Earth. It isn't right we can't see our friends."

"_She's right. Even Optimus believes in inter-species relations. We have much to learn about the human environment, and they have a lot to learn from us as well,_" Bee chirped in agreement.

"So all we have to do is get to the ground bridge, and we're good."

"And who do you think is going to operate the ground bridge? Hm?" A voice spoke up. The trio twirled to find Ratchet right behind him, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Bulkhead! You were supposed to be watching our backs!" Arcee snapped.

"We're in our own base, I didn't think it would be that bad to drop my guard," Bulk shrugged.

"So, you're going back to Earth? And you haven't told Optimus?" Ratchet surmised. The three bots before him nodded, and Ratchet sighed. "I will keep your secret while you're away. Come, let's get to the ground bridge before I change my mind."

"Thank you, Ratchet, this really means a lot," Arcee said gratefully.

"I miss them too," Ratchet replied. "It has been many years since we were together, and as much as I wish it were the opposite, I miss Miko's chatter. Or Rafael helping me on a project. He was the only human to truly understand my work, and even helped perfect some of it! He was truly ahead of his time!" Ratchet marveled. "And Jack, he had a moral character unrivaled among his species! He was strong, unique, I miss him. Tell the children I said hello."

"Of course we will, Ratchet," Arcee nodded as the medic brought the ground bridge to life.

"I can only hide your disappearance for so long, so be back before a couple of earth days has passed. Do not stay longer than an earth week, I doubt I can hide your departure that long," Ratchet warned as his comrades headed into the vortex.

"See ya soon, Ratchet!" Bulkhead called back as he vanished into the vortex, and the medic watched as one by one, they all disappeared from sight.

"Good luck, my friends," Ratchet whispered. "Be safe."


	6. In Jasper

Haru looked at the desert.

And then he looked back at the airport.

This couldn't be the right place. His mom specifically said that Jasper was the 'Entertainment Capital of the World,' and this place...most definitely _not_ that place.

Then again, whenever his mom said that she would usual end up laughing. Haru was starting to get why now.

The desert was exactly like he had heard described: empty, desolate, a barren wasteland. The airport, on the other hand, was bustling with life and beckoning the young man to return to it and get as far away as possible. And Haru was pretty sure he was going to listen to the voice beckoning him back to the big building.

Haru took the first few steps back into the safe, air-conditioned building, his suitcase bouncing against his leg as he turned.

_HONK-HONK! _

Haru turned back, surprised to see a taxi awaiting his command. Maybe this was a sign? Maybe he wasn't supposed to leave? At least, not leave just yet?

"Where do you need to go, sir?" The taxi driver asked, reaching for Haru's suitcase.

"I..." Haru trailed off, having to think about this for a moment. He wasn't supposed to meet his mother's friends until tomorrow... "I need to find a hotel for the night," Haru finally told the man.

"Right away, sir," the driver replied, putting the suitcase in the trunk and opening the cab door for Haru. "Hey, where you from anyway? I hear an accent."

"Japan," Haru smiled.

"Oh, that's cool. You guys make great cars," the driver remarked, pulling out into the traffic. Haru sighed, and leaned back into his seat. _This was going to be a long drive..._

~(0)~

Rafael walked down the streets of Jasper, all the sights and sounds taking him back to his youth. Raf could remember driving his toy cars down these streets, he remembered walking these same streets with his mom, all those years ago.

He remembered when Bee would drive him down these roads, taking him home or to the base.

"It hasn't changed a bit," Raf marveled aloud, shaking his head in disbelief. Even all these years later, Jasper was unchanging, a static spot in the desert.

"I'll say," an older man near Raf agreed. "Everything looks the same!"

"You grew up here too?" Raf asked the other man in surprise.

"Yeah, I'm meeting some friends tomorrow. Maybe you know them?" The man replied, turning to face Raf. Both men looked at the other in shock, eyes widening and jaws dropping.

"Jack? Jack, what is it?" An older woman asked, shaking his shoulder as she tried to get his attention.

"Sierra, you remember Rafael Esquivel?" The man asked, turning the redhead at his side.

"Of course, the resident genius of Jasper," Sierra laughed.

"Well, some people may call me that," Raf chuckled. "But most just call me Raf."

"Raf!" Sierra explained in surprise. "How are you?"

"The years have been pretty good to me, what about yourself?"

"Can't complain," Sierra smiled.

"And Jack," Raf shook his head in amazement. "I can't believe it's you!"

The two friends hugged each other, the shock and surprise still written in their eyes.

"It's been ages! How's Italy? The kids?" Raf asked eagerly.

"Absolutely wonderful, we just sent our youngest off to college. What about yours?"

"I had a surprise baby a couple of years ago, so my wife and I are basically starting back at square one."

"Children are absolutely adorable," Sierra cooed.

"Have you heard from Miko? Is she coming?" Jack asked.

"I haven't heard from her, but that doesn't mean anything," Raf laughed. "She never told us anything, anyway. Besides, she was the one to make us swear to come back. If she's not here we'll have to do something about it."

"True, I've been wanting to visit Japan," Jack grinned.

"Oh no, don't you even dare," Sierra warned, taking a step away from her husband and glaring. "You get to choose one city, one country, oh heck with it, _one continent_, but we are not traipsing across the whole globe on one of your whims! We either go back to Italy, or we stay in the states! Make up your mind!"

"I think you've upset her," Raf whispered conspiratorially to his friend.

"I think it's my irresistible charm," Jack whispered back good naturedly.

"Jackson Darby," Sierra warned.

"Sierra Darby," Jack countered.

"Oh, what am I going to do with you?" Sierra sighed.

"Not much you can do with me, but that's why you love me, right?"

"And I used to think you were so charming," Sierra sighed again.

"Used to?"

"Yes, used to."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, you're right. I'll let you pick where we spend our retirement, okay? Wherever you want. If you say Hawaii, we'll go to Hawaii, if you say Russia, we'll go there! If you say China or Paraguay, Spain or Somali, we'll retire there. I promise."

"Oh Jack," Sierra rolled her eyes.

"But either way, it's getting late. Do you want to join us for dinner, Raf? We're going to Mel's."

"Mel's is still here?" Raf asked surprised, remembering going to that restaurant twenty years ago, almost to the day, with his dad.

"Yep, and they still make really great food," Jack grinned.

"Of course, then," Raf agreed. "Maybe we can go back to Mel's with Miko tomorrow?"

"Sure. Let's just hope that girl isn't late!"

"With Miko, you never know," Sierra laughed.

"She had a good heart, just not a good sense of time management," Raf agreed.

"We'll worry about our favorite Japanese friend tomorrow," Jack decided. "All I know is I'm hungry, and we should probably get to Mel's before they run out of pie!"

"Mel's never runs out of pie, silly," Sierra reminded him.

"Oh yeah. So, tell me what's been going on around here, Raf. What have you been up too?" Jack asked.

The trio headed down the street, talking, laughing, and reminiscing about the past. Their group would be perfect tomorrow, when a certain Japanese would join them in the memories.


End file.
